Piltdown Superman

Make a first, then extend your little (pinky) finger. Place it up to the corner of your mouth and say, "400 trillion " like Dr. Evil. That is about how many viruses live within you. No need to get flustered because only a few are owlhoots . They are a part of our microbiome . Strange thing is, viruses are not considered living things! They can mimic life by bushwhacking living cells, infecting them, and reproducing. There are many types of viruses and they do not all work in the same way. Our sub-life friends are viruses called bacteriophages . Working on a motor, Unsplash / Han Dora Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and are selective in their targets. Bacteriophages (phages for short) hunt the bad bacteria and leave the good ones alone. To do their work, they have to work on the DNA molecules in the bacteria. Not only did the Master Engineer give living things built-in viruses to ambush bad bacteria, he also gave viruses a special molecular machine to conduct such detai...

For many years, evolutionary scientists wanted to know the cranial capacity of humans and apes they discovered. This came from the idea that a bigger brain meant greater intelligence. Some folks seem to believe this today, an indication of how bad science gains a foothold with the public. Some animals have bigger brains than humans but are not as smart. It could be related to body size. The brain-to-body-size ratio shows that humans have larger brains in comparison to body size than some animals. Where does intelligence come from, anyway? It seems that intelligence is a product of consciousness, but secularists tend to reject its existence . But they also wonder how it evolved . Attempting to explain intelligence appears to be an acceptance of its existence. Another question is, "How is intelligence measured?" Dunno. Part of our brain is gray matter (you may have been told to use your gray matter as a way of urging you to think), Those brain cells called neurons  reside there...

The largest shark in the world today is the whale shark, an endangered resident of tropical waters that grows around 17 meters (55.7 feet). Be amazed but not afraid because it eats plankton. Something that might have kept people cautious when swimming was  Otodus megalodon . New information on megalodon has been issued where it could have grown up to 24.3 meters (80 feet), and it apparently was a predator that would eat lots of things, including other predators. It could have lived for hundreds of years, so it did not reach maturity any time soon. Otodus megalodon , The Royal Society Publishing / Jose L. Herraiz et al ( CC BY 4.0 ) Biblical creationists are interested in growth calculations for the megalodon because of how humans and organisms lived for extended periods until after the Genesis Flood. More data are needed to be certain of calculations, but it is also reasonable to compare their size (and therefore age) to the Greenland shark for reference. Fossil remains of the gia...

Atheists and other evolutionists have a tendency to use the word evolution  loosely, conflating change  and variation  with universal common ancestry. That bait 'n' switch trick is used to fool people into believing that Darwin was right, so there is no Creator. If anti-creationists bothered to learn what we believe and teach, they would learn that natural selection , speciation, and other variations are accepted by most creation science models. Also, many evolutionists misunderstand and misrepresent natural selection. Consider the alleged evolution of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades. Burmese python in Everglades (slightly cropped), USFWS / Susan Jewell ( CC BY 2.0 ) These big snakes are native to Southeast Asia (the name kind of gives that away), but some people illegally have them in Florida . (I wonder how many pythons there were named Monty? Just something I had to squeeze in here.) They escape or get turned loose, and are an invasive species that causes ha...

The existence of soft tissues in dinosaur fossils has been a tremendous problem for evolutionists, so they have spent a great deal of time working at the fudge factory. (That is, fudging rescuing devices for the problem.) Some appear to mitigate the damage when important details are omitted. A one-off anomaly or two could be set aside, but there are numerous examples of blood vessels, proteins, DNA, and all that good stuff existing for alleged millions of years. Reality sits at the back of the narrative bus; the story is more important. Some scientists as well as Darwin's Flying Monkeys™ on teh interwebz denied their existence at first, but many are finally admitting the existence of soft tissues. They cannot get past biblical creationists who point out the facts and implications. Smug evolutionists have come up with yet another rescuing device called crosslinking . They think they can keep their deep time and use it to evosplain other things dear to their cold hearts. Logic? No t...

It is interesting that atheists and other evolutionists strongly react to biblical creationists discussing created kinds , almost as if the current system of taxonomy was devised by a higher power. Ironically, this system used by secularists was originally developed by Carl Linnaeus, who was a creationist. Nobody seems to be advocating the replacement of the current system. It is pretty useful for reference points. Biblical creationists study the created kinds (baraminology), and most of them place kind  near the family  level of current taxonomy. Basement Cat photo by Cowboy Bob Sorensen, enhanced with FotoSketcher It may come as a shock to some people, but facts can fit opposing models; "Their" facts and "our" facts is false. Natural selection is an accepted part of most creation science models, for example. We also have no problem with speciation and hybridization. Creationists have the cat kind, dog kind, horse kind, and so on. There are variations within them ...

Some folks consider Elon Musk a visionary, making long-held hopes of going to Mars seem possible. It appears that he is not consulting with scientists about the journey. Radiation from the earth to the moon was bad enough, but traveling  farther away could be disastrous to travelers . Dust on earth gets unsightly and makes people sneeze. The dust on the moon was different than ours, causing problems for the Apollo astronauts. It could conceivably tear their suits, and it was a great concern for protecting their equipment. Then there is Mars dust. Curiosity rover takes pictures of Mars dust storm, NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS (usage does not imply endorsement) Aside from looking for life and trying to support dust-to-Darwin evolution, devices sent to Mars did some analysis of the land. That dust contains dangerous chemicals. It also has electrostatic charges. Also, some of it is so fine, particles cannot be coughed out of the lungs. To make things worse, it moves. There are huge dust ...

After a spell of target practice with my .44-40 Winchester (same loads for rifle and pistol), I saddled up and rode into town for gun maintenance supplies and ammo. While there, I encountered Russell Watchtower, who heads up the Ministry of Truth at the Darwin Ranch. We  went into the local eatery for lunch. I had burger steak and eggs, and Russ had beef liver with onions. In my childhood days, I couldn't stand liver. My parents let me have a hamburger instead. "I wonder if cannibals eat livers," I mused. Human liver, Wikimedia Commons / BruceBlaus ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) "Sure they do," he replied. "Disgusting to us, but our burial practices are disgusting to those people as well. Some ate parts as a funeral ritual, others wanted to gain the strength of their enemies." I said, "Seems strange to want the strength of someone you've already defeated." He stopped with his fork in midair and stared, then guffawed. "Good point!" "You ...

Some folks still cling to the image of Neanderthals as stupid brutes, but calling someone a Neanderthal as an insult is actually a compliment. The more they are studied, the more they are found to be fully human — but some evolutionists do not want to admit this fact. Neanderthals are known to have cooked with fire, had skillful cave paintings, made and wore jewelry, seem to have had religious views — and traveled extensively. In fact, they intermarried. Their DNA is found in people of European and Asian ancestry, more so in Melanesia. Neanderthal person, WikiComm / Neanderthal-Museum, Mettmann ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ), modified at PhotoFunia Odd that Melanesia is in the DNA list. We're talking about an area north and east of Australia, Fiji and those islands. I doubt that they traveled that far from Europe, but someone gave DNA to those people. Speaking of travel, the toolmaking of Neanderthals has been labeled  Quina , which is very distinct. So why is it found in East Asia? Maybe they ...

Some weather channels and sites have news related to climates, and they would do well to post about deserts. They form under certain conditions. The Namib is a desert like a strip along Namibia and a bit north and south in Africa along the Atlantic Ocean. It is actually a cool desert (Antarctica is also a desert but obviously much colder). The air is laden with moisture, so there is early-morning fog. The darkling (or fogstand) beetle has a very interesting way of getting the water it needs in this arid region. Fogstand racing stripe beetle, Wikimedia Commons / Hans Hillewaert ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) Since water is in the air, the beetle angles its backside into the breeze. Those bumps on its shell help it collect the moisture. Droplets are formed and directed so that the beetle can drink the water. Once again, we see that the Creator equipped a creature with special survival features, but descent with modifications evolution storytellers are unable to come up with a plausible development sc...

Several opinions exist regarding the nature and cause of autism, but they are disparate. Many fingers point to vaccines.   Vaccines do prevent diseases and save lives , there can be no doubt about that. Ever heard, "Correlation is not causation?" Children are diagnosed with autism at the same age range of receiving vaccines. That is insufficient evidence, and fallacious.  It has been suggested that chemicals and additives in processed foods play a part in causing it. There are other suspects as well, and deeper research is a must. Symbols of autism, Pixabay / Katamaheen Many people have autism to one extent or another. We may not even  be aware of others who have it. Indeed, some have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome later in life and others may not know they have it. Autism manifests in different ways, and people may have hidden brilliant traits. Unfortunately, much of medical science is not only based on molecules-to-mycologist evolution, but also has a gre...

Big dogs, little dogs, pointed ears, floppy ears, many varieties at the dog show. Get out the leashes and take the mutants on parade. Breeding animals for specific traits has been done for ages, but nowadays it is mostly for appearance. This artificial selection is bad for the dogs. Darwinists and creationists agree that the ancestor of all dogs was a wolf, rich in genetic diversity. Purebreds often have genetic diseases that cause pain and early death in some. Want a dog for a companion? Get a mix, which has many genetic resources to draw from. Basset Hound, Unsplash / Apostolos Vamvouras The neighbor walks her dog that looks like a pot-bellied pig, which snorts and breathes loudly. Special breeds are not only expensive, but high maintenance — and a far cry from the original created kind . Although animal breeding is done through artificial selection, many of the same aspects of natural selection are involved. Natural selection (it is out of convenience to use that phrase since there...

Up in these parts, alligators and crocodiles are unlikely to be encountered in the wild. Down Florida way, there are many millions of gators and a few crocs, but crocs are more common in southern latitudes. How to tell them apart? In the picture, one is a gator. The the other is a croc. Easy! One more: An alligator will see you later and a crocodile will see you in a while. Joking aside, there are a few visible differences . Crocs have tapered snouts, gators have broader snouts and are darker in color. Like snakes, just leave them alone. American alligator and crocodile, Flickr / Abi Skipp ( CC BY 2.0 ) By the way, judging from their similar appearances, it would seem that crocodiles and alligators could mate. Nope. Genetically, they are quite different, so there are no allidiles or crocogators roaming around. Alligators are often a nuisance in Florida and such, lumbering across the road (residents are used to it, tourists often stop for pictures) or getting into places uninvited. Sna...

A few years back, I posted an article by biblical creationists proposing that one way animals spread around the world after the Genesis Flood was by rafting. Misotheists had a grand time ridiculing it — unaware that evolutionists had been catching onto that idea. In a grandiose display of evoporn, Darwinists demonstrate that they believe reality does not compare with pure imagination: Iguanas rafted from North America to Fiji thirty-four million fanciful years ago. They must have because they live there now — which is the fallacy of  affirming the consequent . Rafting iguanas and rainbow of imagination, made by DeepAI This peer-reviewed  story is gelastic for several reasons. One is that there is no plausible mechanism. Another is that desert iguanas, not the swimming type, are the supposed ancestors of those in Fiji. Third, they could not survive such a trip. Yes, lizards have been seen rafting and presumed to successfully make some trips — but nothing nearly as long as this ...

If you saddle up and ride out California way, head on over to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Then you can find Sequoia National Park . There you will see the giant sequoias which are the largest trees in the world. People sometimes confuse them with giant redwoods — the tallest  trees. So how did they get up there in such a limited area? There are several factors work together for giant sequoias to propagate. Also, the way water gets all the way to the top is an engineering feat. Finally, their existence and location fits the biblical timeline. Giant sequoias, one on right with fire damage, Wikimedia Commons (PD) It is interesting how in the wake of forest fire destruction comes renewal. Fires and scorched ground are essential for giant sequoia seed growth. The trees have been around for thousands of years, and can reach heights around 99 meters (325 feet). Human engineers marvel at how giant sequoias pump 1,890 liters (500 gallons) up each tree every day. Also, the Genesis Fl...

Several years ago, astronomers thought exoplanet K2-18b would be a good candidate for life because of its atmosphere. Then the negative aspects were considered. One of these is that it has an orbit of thirty-three days around a red dwarf star. That makes for extreme temperature ranges. The James Webb Space Telescope was used to detect dimethyl sulfide. This is thought to only come from life, so it is labeled as a biosignature . It is an odoriferous gas produced on Earth by algae and by humans to some extent. Too much is dangerous to us. Artist concept, exoplanet K2-18 b, NASA, CSA, ESA, et al. (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) A problem for secularists is that dimethyl sulfide is not  only produced by living things. That means it's not necessarily a biosignature. There are numerous assumptions made about life on K2-18b, including abiogenesis and evolution. (Some reports that will probably be forgotten soon after their self-humiliation, lying  that ...

There is, at a glance, an insignificant blob of flesh in the digestive system. Long derided as "vestigial," is the appendix. Because of evolutionary thinking, it has been surgically removed from people. Vestigial structures are considered leftovers from our evolutionary ancestry, so we do not need these vestiges anymore. Like other so-called vestigial organs, it has been discovered that the appendix is important. Evolutionists and much of the medical science community believed stories  about the past without using empirical evidence. Like "junk" DNA , they didn't understand something's function, so they labeled it as useless. The entire digestive system is complex, beginning from salivation. Organs work together. Some evolutionary sidewinders are so insistent on their lie that allegedly useless leftover prove evolution (which is assumed, not demonstrated), they even redefine the word  vestigial ! (When caught going against the truth, use semantic trickery , ...

While visiting Ruby Slippers to discuss the upcoming nuptials of our mutual friends Stormie Waters and Roland Meadows, I was distracted by her pet chameleon. It was a real one, not an anole sometimes sold as a chameleon . This one was fully grown. It was feeding time, which is interesting. Ruby puts worms and crickets into the cage every other day, and I was there at the right moment. She opened the top and dropped them in. "Liz" was the name of the female lizard, and I saw an eye move and focus on lunch. Panther chameleon, Wikimedia Commons /  Charles J. Sharp  ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) "Liz is interested. Watch and see if she —" A blur of motion and I was surprised at how fast the lizard zapped up a cricket. "There you go," said Ruby. "I'm amazed at how they were designed to have such specialized vision  and that it works with precision shooting of that sticky tongue. There's also a suction cup kind of thing on there." "Yes, clearly some sp...

On this site and others, many examples of shoddy science, corrupt research, bad logic, and outright fraud by secularists have been exhibited. People may shrug their shoulders and trot on because they do not care about origins research. It happens in other areas of science in ways that can affect everyone. Misconduct is rampant in the secular science industry. Many papers submitted for peer review have been retracted, but the reasons are often obscure. Pernaps the research could not be reproduced, fraud was involved, and more. Then we have the sophistry of Alzheimer's disease research. Medical lab work, Pixabay / Belova59 The word sophistry  is far removed from its original use in Greece about 450 BC. That was a person who taught certain things to children of nobility. Now it is used to mean someone who wants to prove a point but uses deceptive wording for persuasion. This kind of sophistry is common in promoting Darwinism but is also found in other scientific areas. Research on a d...

Believers in descent with modification evolution are locked into their paradigm, so they have difficulty doing much more than telling stories that fit. They put on their evolution glasses and interpret what they see through those lenses. Few ask if evolution happened in the first place, being content to evosplain how they think traits developed. Using critical thinking skills, people can see that stories about insect evolution actually lack science. The same kind of thing happens when discussing phasmids  — that group of insects that resemble leaves and sticks. Malayan jungle nymph, Flickr / Tyler Karaszewski ( CC BY 2.0 , slightly modified) There is no traceable evolutionary history for insects. Proponents use words and descriptions that include words like "probably." They also go against evolutionary doctrine by saying why  a characteristic supposedly evolved. The disguises and body part arrangements of phasmids are mysterious to evolutionists, but biblical creationists b...